3/21/2018

A brilliant golden sheen was cast over the sky as the sun clung to the last few minutes of daytime. The clouds turned pink and purple like giant wads of cotton candy, and the sounds of dusk began to fill the cool air as crickets and frogs came out to play.

"So beautiful," I whispered dreamily.

She turned to look at me with those gorgeous eyes of hers. I couldn't help but grin.

"The sky isn't bad either."

Her smile was brighter than the golden sky above us. She didn't say anything; she didn't have to. She just snuggled up closer and laid her head on my shoulder, and all was at peace in the world. No war or sadness, just us.

At least, that's what we thought.

She lurched forward, and I looked down at her. Her eyes' joy turned to terror as blood dripped from her mouth. Before I could say anything, I saw it: the arrowhead protruding from her chest.

I don't remember exactly what happened next. I'm fairly certain I screamed. I clung onto her as her body fell and her spirit rose. Try as I might to hold them together, they went their separate ways, leaving me alone in the middle. I do remember one specific detail, though.

As her body thumped against the grass, the sky went out like a lightswitch being flicked. Billions of stars above me burned but none of them as hot as the fire within my gut as I stood and turned.

A lone archer stood about fifty meters away. I've never seen a man look so terrified.

I took a step, but my foot caught in the ground. Before I could so much as recoil, the pit opened beneath me and swallowed me into the void. I tumbled into darkness for what seemed like hours before I crashed into my mattress, waking to the sound of my alarm.